


Half-Baked, Over-Baked

by Tallihensia



Series: The Veil Universe [3]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Drama, M/M, Romance, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-27
Updated: 2010-12-27
Packaged: 2017-10-14 03:43:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,594
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tallihensia/pseuds/Tallihensia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are adjustments to be made in every life, and sometimes they're not perfect, but we keep trying anyhow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Half-Baked, Over-Baked

**Author's Note:**

> **Disclaimer:** Only mine in my dreams. ;-) This story was written for free entertainment purposes only and may not be reproduced for profit or altered without permission.
> 
>  **Warnings:** none
> 
>  **Spoilers:** none
> 
>  **Notes:** Set in the [Beyond the Veil](http://archiveofourown.org/works/144966) world. A couple weeks after the end of that one. Future fic. AU after end Season 3, established Clex.

## Half-Baked, Over-Baked

The ringing woke Clark from his sound sleep. It wasn't his phone and he puzzled over it for a sleepy moment before he remembered where he was. Beside him, Lex rolled over and answered it. A few short exchanges and Lex was out of the bed and heading for the bathroom. The sounds of brushing teeth could be heard.

Clark got up too but then he hovered uselessly. He'd heard enough to know it was business, not something Superman could help with.

Lex came out and went to the closet without looking at Clark. From inside there, he spoke, "Thank you for a wonderful night. I'm sorry, but I have to go to work now. Please get dressed and I'll escort you out."

Clark blinked. "Um, Lex..."

There was a startled pause and Lex walked out with as blank a look on his face as Clark had ever seen. He'd pulled on his pants and a shirt hung off his shoulders, but neither were buttoned.

With a laugh, Clark went to Lex and started buttoning up the shirt. "Forgot who you were sleeping with?" Clark couldn't blame him. Two weeks wasn't enough time to adjust, not really. Clark barely believed it himself.

Lex swallowed, then raised his chin defiantly, his eyes glinting. "You can do whatever you like, since you will anyhow."

Continuing his work on the buttons, Clark smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. He remembered that first night a month ago when he'd slipped into Lex's dream and Lex had thought Clark was a dream. Lex had been so open, so caring... That night, Lex had said freely and often that he loved Clark. Since then, Clark hadn't heard it once.

"There," Clark finished the last button and smoothed down the shirt with his hands. "Dressed to kill. Go get them, Tiger."

In the middle of tucking his shirt inside his pants Lex lifted his head and glared.

"My tiger," Clark said again and kissed Lex.

Despite Clark's morning breath, Lex melted into the kiss, clinging for a long moment more when Clark would have pulled back.

"I..." Lex said, hesitantly.

"Go," Clark said, caressing Lex's shoulders, then letting him go.

The anguished look in Lex's eyes faded and the mask came back. He nodded crisply to Clark and walked away.

Clark watched him go, feeling like there was a bungee cord stretching between them with every step, and he wondered when it would snap. Lex loved Clark, he did, but there were so many years between of Clark hating Lex... Clark couldn't believe he'd missed it when he was younger. He had been such an ass for so long. And now Lex was broken; Clark's fault. Lex didn't trust Clark, though Lex still loved him. Just because Clark loved Lex back now didn't automatically fix everything between them.

With a sigh, Clark went to take a shower. There was no point to going back to bed now.

... ... ...

Exploring the penthouse hadn't been one of Clark's top priorities in the last few weeks. Lex had shown him some of it, but Clark's main memories were of where they'd had sex. As Clark now roamed through the place, he blushed to realize how much sex they'd had. It was a wonder they'd gotten any sleep at all. Clark knew his work wondered about how distracted Clark had been lately; except for Lois, who smirked at him.

Today was Saturday. Clark had planned on spending it nice and leisurely; sleeping in, waking up next to Lex and taking things slow. Having breakfast with him. Lunch, a movie, dinner. Talking. Finding more out about Lex, sharing himself, bringing them closer together with more than sex.

He hadn't counted on Lex being gone.

Alone, he rattled around in the large penthouse. Briefly, he thought about going to his apartment, but Clark was reluctant to leave. The sound-proofing on the building wasn't on, and he could hear the city. Nothing needed Superman this instant. Well, there was always somebody that did. But nothing of major proportions.

He might as well have breakfast before deciding anything. Clark padded to the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets.

The kitchen was a marvel. Two stoves, a great rangetop... everything Lex's cook might possibly want. The cook didn't live here all the time – Lex didn't let anybody in like that – but she was here every other weeknight to make dinners, and if Lex wasn't home by the time the dinners were, they were put into a special 'dinner hold' cabinet with temperature and humidity controls for the warm and cold foods. Clark shook his head at it. It was, he admitted, better than having the cook waiting and waiting, and never quite sure when Lex would be there or not. But it also spoke to just how horrible Lex's normal work hours were.

Clark wasn't leaving. No matter how long it took for Lex to get home this day, Clark would be here waiting when Lex got back.

... ... ...

Lunch came and went with no Lex. Clark was tempted to go to Lex's office and poke at him, but he knew that wouldn't be appreciated.

Bored, he wandered back to the kitchen and tried his mom's method of passing the time. Chocolate chip cookies.

The ingredients were surprisingly easy to find. Clark wondered what Lex's housekeeper used chocolate chips for.

Large bowl, everything dumped in together, except for the flour, and Clark mixed it with his carefully washed hands. Fingers were really the best method for getting the butter squeezed and the sugar mixed with the eggs and baking soda and salt. Brown sugar mingling with the white sugar, blending it all together, and when smooth, adding in the flour bit by bit. Clark couldn't help nibbling on some of the dough at that point, though years of training from his mom meant that he used a tasting spoon instead of his fingers. Well, mostly. When he licked a finger, he was careful to wash again. Though honestly, Lex probably wouldn't care.

Chocolate chips. Clark munched on a few of those too. He started to dump in more than one package, then he remembered that Lex wasn't as much of a chocoholic as Clark was. Lex had a sweet tooth, to be sure, yet somehow the chocolate gene had missed him. Clark figured he'd make the first batch of cookies with half a bag, and then he'd put in the other half plus another bag for his half of the cookies.

The first tray was baking in the oven and Clark had mostly prepared the second tray when he heard it.

A dam. Somewhere in... Missouri. Cracking. Clark could feel the pressure of the water starting to break through. He didn't know how the heck he could do something like that, but he did. He dropped the spoon with the cookie dough and took three steps towards the door. Then he cursed and turned back.

Yanking the oven door open, Clark pulled out the half-baked cookies and tossed the tray on the stove, making sure it wasn't touching anything flammable. He turned off the oven, making sure he hadn't left anything inside of it.

With a mournful glance at the raw dough and half-baked cookies, Clark sighed and then returned to rescue mode. He changed into his costume on the way up the penthouse stairs and was flying before he got out the door.

... ... ...

Lex was tired and hungry.

First had been a meeting with the site manager. Then a meeting with the workers who had encountered the problem. Then a meeting with the review board. Then a meeting with the county inspectors. Then a meeting with stakeholders. Lex hated meetings. He had to look competent and cool and collected at each and every one of them, and project different attitudes to each one based on what they were looking at him for. Getting the information he needed while reassuring the masses.

It didn't help to be doing all this while distracted.

The whole day, Lex hadn't been able to get Clark out of his mind. That last "go get them, Tiger" and the feel of Clark's hands on his shirt. The slightly sad smile he'd worn, understanding and acceptance mixed together. The kiss. The sex the night before.

Clark was trying hard; Lex had to give him that. He'd forced his way into Lex's life and was now carving out a territory within that same life with the tenacity of a bulldog. A grip that wouldn't let go, inching closer and closer to the jugular without releasing.

Lex had a sudden sympathy for White Fang in Jack London's story. Though Clark would probably compare himself to Weedon Scott instead of the bulldog. The analogy was similar. Lex, not wanting anything to do with people, being trained slowly and surely to love one instead. Salivating for the very presence of the man almost more than the food he brought, until he'd do anything the man wanted.

Lex hated it. Lex wanted it. Clark had broken him, Clark wanted to fix him. Lex loved Clark. He'd been safe in that love before, hidden from the world. Now, though, it was out there in the open, and Clark knew it. Lex wasn't safe anymore, even though he was well-loved.

Sex almost every night for two weeks straight. Curled up together on the nights they were both too tired. The look in Clark's eyes when he looked at Lex. The smiles as he found the little things Lex brought into the penthouse for him. The security and possession in the way Clark held Lex. The half-full tray of smashed bullets by their bedroom door.

Oh Lord. Lex had just thought 'their' when thinking about the bedroom.

He shuddered and headed to the kitchen. He was hungry. Pizza had been served during one of the various meetings, but that had been a long time ago.

At the sight of the kitchen, Lex made a little sound of dismay. He went to the computer built into one of the cabinets and brought up his news search for anything current on Superman.

Flooding in Missouri. A dam had burst, and Superman had been flying around rescuing everybody in sight, diverting rivers, and was now helping with repairs. He was hovering there upstream, holding a temporary barrier in place while engineers scurried around.

The temporary barrier would probably become a longer-term temporary dam while they worked on the original, but that would be hours down the line.

Lex huffed out a half-laugh. How did they ever think they were going to make it work, he and Clark? If it wasn't Lex, it was Clark.

With a sigh, he picked up one of the limp and ugly cookies on the baking sheet. It was mostly still dough, partly baked through on the bottom, but otherwise gooy and yucky. Lex ate it anyhow.

Then he turned the oven back on and put the other tray inside.

He cleaned off the first tray, arranging the cookies carefully on a plate.

Of the supplies scattered around, Lex didn't see the can of baking spray that his cook usually used. There was, however, a stick of butter sitting out. Rather warm and slimy at the moment, but that was probably fine since it was just going to be melted anyhow.

Lex made one attempt to grease the pan with the warm butter before he shuddered and gave it up. He got a new stick out from the refrigerator, firm and cold, and he could hold it much easier when dragging it over the tray. He knew better than to use a knife on the pan – he wasn't totally helpless in a kitchen.

Turning back to the bowl of cookie dough, Lex hesitated over it for a long moment. It had crusted over, making a harder layer on top and the inside looked more... well, it just didn't look like it should. For most people, the fact that the eggs in the mixture had been sitting out that long was probably enough to have them be thrown away. However, Lex didn't get sick, and Clark didn't either, so as long as it didn't affect the taste, there wasn't any reason **not** to use it.

He stirred up the mixture again, and it started looking more like it should the more he stirred it. He also added the extra bag of chips sitting next to the bowl. Clark had obviously made the first batch for Lex, remembering that Lex didn't like chocolate as much. It had been years since they'd had cookies together. Not since... their second year, eight years ago. How did Clark remember that?

There was a lump in Lex's throat that he worked out with the cookies.

As he dropped the dough onto the tray, there was something in the back of his mind telling him he forgot about something... He didn't remember what it was, though, until he opened the oven door to put the new batch in and saw the previous batch brown and smoldering.

With a sigh, Lex took that batch out, put the new one in, and this time set the timer. He arranged the burnt cookies on a plate next to the others and looked at them.

One set under-baked, one set over-baked, neither quite perfect. No matter how much he or Clark tried.

Really, Lex should just abandon the cookies. Make himself a sandwich or get something out of the freezer for dinner. Working on the cookies was just an exercise in futility. He didn't even like cookies, not anymore, and they'd all be cold by the time Clark got back.

Even as he thought it, Lex turned to make another set.

... ... ...

A slight 'wooshing' sound and the stir of displaced air were Lex's only warning. Well, that and the fact that the news channel had reported that Superman had left the scene.

"Lex, I'm so sorr---" Clark broke off. "You baked the cookies?"

Lex sniffed, but didn't turn from the pasta he was stirring. "I'm not totally incompetent in the kitchen."

"I... I see that." A hand snaked in front of Lex, over the pasta, and grabbed a cookie off the plate. A totally unnecessary move since Clark could have just gone to Lex's other side to get them. "It's really good." The words were muddled, forced out between what sounded like a rather large bite of cookie.

"Your cookies," Lex replied. "Your dough."

"Your cooking," Clark's voice showed the smile in his voice.

Then Lex was pulled gently away from the pasta and he was kissed.

Chocolate and sugar and a taste that was uniquely Clark alone. Lex tried desperately to find every crumb in Clark's mouth. He ran out of oxygen before he succeeded, but he kept trying anyhow.

"Lex..."

His name was whispered and gentle breath flowed over his lips as they moved away. Lex kept his eyes shut, leaning into the warm embrace, secure in the hold.

Clark held him for a long moment more. Then he shifted and said, "Oops," in a slightly embarrassed tone.

The smell of something burning reached him. Lex opened his eyes and turned around to see the pasta boiling over. He grabbed it off the stove while Clark cleaned up.

"I hope you like your noodles burnt," Lex said tartly as he scooped it into bowls.

"I do," Clark replied with sincerity. He kissed Lex again, lightly, then tugged Lex over to the table for them to sit and eat dinner together.

 

* * *

  


END

**Author's Note:**

> For the schmoop bingo card, square "baking cookies".  
> Cross-posted to [my livejournal](http://community.livejournal.com/alatrific/23978.html).


End file.
